December 30th

December 30, 2013

It was a bitter winter morning and his hands were freezing, but former Mammoth Lakes Police Department officer Paul Dostie was in his element.

One hand on a radio handset, another on a yellow legal pad, the sounds of a Vietnamese pop song came across his ham radio from thousands of miles away, tinny and scratchy in the background, he listened intently as orders from Mammoth Hospital came in over the wire.

“We are in lockdown,” came the message. “Only family members will be allowed in. All people must check in to the front desk.”